Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses

After brushing past the Nine-Finger Divine Lord, Gu An quickly left Immortal Seeking Island.

Although the Nine-Finger Divine Lord couldn't threaten him at the moment, his age of one hundred seventy thousand years made Gu An reluctant to associate with him.

Gu An had no need to make connections with great powers; he just wanted to avoid trouble.

After returning to the Supreme Sect, he went to watch the First Cultivation Conference every few days and found it quite interesting.

The Supreme Sect created different treasures according to different realms, and it was said that the materials were brought from overseas by Xuan Tianyi. The heaviest was a Mahayana Realm treasure, heavier than a mountain.

Because of this, the Supreme Sect also specially opened a venue and set up layers of restrictions to prevent the ground from collapsing.

Since there was no combat, the First Cultivation Conference didn't last as long as previous events; in less than half a month, Qiao Dai won the first place and was conferred the title of Great Sage of the Heavenly Peak by the Supreme Sect!

Afterwards, Qiao Dai announced his decision to join the Supreme Sect and become an elder, which took Gu An by surprise.

What is the Seven Stars Spirit Realm up to?

Sending a Mahayana Realm cultivator to the Supreme Sect for no reason?

Or are they planting a pawn?

Gu An didn't ask Lv Baitian; even if Qiao Dai had bad intentions, he wasn't afraid.

It only took one move to kill the Divine Soul True Lord, and it would be the same for Qiao Dai!

However, after autumn arrived, Ji Hantian brought Qiao Dai to find Gu An, who happened to be in, so he received them in his building.

Qiao Dai sat at the table, looked around the environment, and asked: "Are you Pan An?"

Gu An, carrying a cup of tea to the table, responded: "I am Pan An. May I ask what business you have with me, senior?"

The Ji Family had switched allegiance to the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, and now Ji Hantian brought Qiao Dai to find him, which made him think deeply.

"Sit down and talk," Ji Hantian said with a warm smile, even taking the initiative to pour tea for the two of them.

Gu An sat down and looked at Qiao Dai.

Qiao Dai scrutinized him with an oppressive gaze.

"What do you think of the Holy Land, Seven Stars Spirit Realm?" Qiao Dai asked.

Gu An was stunned and replied: "The Seven Stars Spirit Realm is called a Holy Land; naturally, I respect it. Why do you ask me this?"

Qiao Dai said: "Is Master Puti from the Oblique Moon Three Stars Cave in your writing meant to pay homage to the Seven Stars Spirit Realm?"

Master Puti was the teacher of Sun Wukong, the protagonist of Journey to the West. Ever since Journey to the West became a hit, Master Puti was often mentioned. Some even firmly believed that the Oblique Moon Three Stars Cave, the Spirit Platform, and Square Inch Hill truly existed.

Gu An nodded.

Since the Ji Family had turned to the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, and Qiao Dai came from the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, Gu An naturally had to go along with their thoughts.

If these two still had doubts about him, he could only have Sword Venerable Fudao take action.

Seeing Gu An nod, Qiao Dai didn't seem pleased; instead, he frowned and said: "Actually, the Seven Stars Spirit Realm is not as good as you think."

Upon hearing this, Gu An looked at him in amazement.

What does this mean?

Could it be that Qiao Dai harbored enmity toward the Seven Stars Spirit Realm?

Ji Hantian chimed in: "The previous great calamity of demons is related to the Seven Stars Spirit Realm. We sought you out because we feared you esteemed the Seven Stars Spirit Realm too much, and there are some things we need to tell you."

Without waiting for Gu An to respond, Ji Hantian explained the origins of the Demon Ancestor and Evil Demon, leaving Gu An dumbfounded.

Gu An actually knew this long ago but had to act surprised while contemplating their intentions.

After Ji Hantian finished, Qiao Dai said: "The actions of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm disgust me deeply. Ever since I embarked on the immortal cultivation path, I wanted to be an immortal who saves the world. That was also why I chose to join the Seven Stars Spirit Realm. But a friend of mine exposed the crimes of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm. He came from the Lin Family, whose ancestor was slain by Sword Venerable Fudao after attacking the Supreme Sect. Later, during the siege of the Evil Demon, the Lin Family suffered heavy losses."

"Taking advantage of this, their adversaries within the Seven Stars Spirit Realm sought to exterminate them. Before fleeing, my friend left me a letter exposing the general misdeeds committed by the high-ups of the Six Stars Cave against the Lin Family. It took me years to fully accept these facts."

Gu An felt a sigh of lament at hearing that the Lin Family had been abandoned by the Seven Stars Spirit Realm.

Of course, the Lin Family's annihilation was not undeserved, just infighting among dogs.

Gu An furrowed his brow and said: "I am merely a minor cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Why are you telling me this? I cannot help you. Don't think of using Pan An's name to expose the Holy Land; I cannot afford to provoke them."

Ji Hantian smiled: "Rest assured, we are not that reckless. The Seven Stars Spirit Realm is currently too powerful, and even the combined forces of the three dynasties can't shake it. We just hope you won't exalt the Seven Stars Spirit Realm in your books in the future."

Qiao Dai nodded and said: "Exactly. Your influence is truly great. I used to disdain it until I read your Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West, only then realizing your prowess. However, I liked your Supreme Immortal Venerable the most; the story of a comeback is more captivating."

So that's what it's about...

Gu An found it both laughable and exasperating. It was just a coincidence; in fact, he was subtly hinting that the Seven Stars Spirit Realm resembled the Buddhism Sect of Western Heaven.

He pretended to contemplate and then reluctantly agreed to the matter.

Seeing Gu An seemingly hesitant, Ji Hantian and Qiao Dai didn't get angry. They too took a long time to process this information when they first learned about it.

Not only did they have to expose the evil side of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, but they also had to endure the pressure of confronting it directly.

This was, after all, the most powerful force on the continent, with no equal!

Gu An couldn't help but ask: "If the Seven Stars Spirit Realm wishes to enslave all beings, why engage in such roundabout methods? Even the combined forces of our three dynasties are no match for them, right?"

Qiao Dai replied: "Not all of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm is evil. On the ocean, it remains a Holy Land of the Righteous Path. Our continent is merely one region of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, governed by the Six Stars Cave and Seven Stars Cave. Over the past tens of thousands of years, the high-ups of the Six Stars Cave sought extreme ways to break through the Heavenly Destiny, deceiving superiors and subordinates, leading to these consequences."

"In the unseen world, there exists Qi Fortune and incense. If the beings of the continent detest the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, the other Star Caves would surely notice. If the beings are exterminated, it would also attract the attention of surrounding forces. Fire can't be wrapped in paper, and most cultivators within the Seven Stars Spirit Realm are unaware of this, considering themselves disciples of the Righteous Path."

Once again, it was the parasites within the Righteous Path committing atrocities, but the parasites of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm were an existence that the beings of the continent couldn't contend with.

Gu An feigned a sudden realization, then asked a few more questions, even mentioning the Ephemera Sect.

The reason the Ephemera Sect managed to come through the Nine Nether Road was due to the connection between its Hierarch, Butcher Immortal Jing, and an elder in the Six Stars Cave. The interwoven interests between the two were immeasurable. It seemed like they were allowing the Ephemera Sect to wreak havoc, but in reality, that elder wanted to devour the essence of the Origin Tree of Ephemera.

Once the three dynasties' cultivators sacrificed to the Origin Tree, the elder would strike, not only reaping benefits but also gaining a good reputation.

The continent where the Ephemera Sect resided was also a subsidiary of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, extremely distant from here, so far that the cultivators of the Ephemera Sect had to rely on the Nine Nether Road. Without Mahayana Realm cultivation, they would surely die en route through the ocean.

The three continued their conversation for an hour. Before leaving, Ji Hantian urged Gu An not to spread this matter.

With the current strength of the Supreme Sect, it was completely inadequate to contend against the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, so they had to endure!

Gu An rose to see them off. Watching Ji Hantian's departing figure, he very much wanted to ask about the Ji Family's true stance towards the Seven Stars Spirit Realm.

Currently, there were very few members of the Ji Family in the Supreme Sect, practically just Ji Hantian's lineage.

Speaking of which, when the Evil Demon broke free, Ji Xiaoyu gave Gu An a jade pendant to temporarily keep. It recorded the crimes of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, and after so many years, Ji Xiaoyu had yet to come to reclaim it.

Using his divine sense, he noticed Ji Xiaoyu heading towards the Tianwei Dynasty, moving towards the eastern ocean.

What was this?

Running away from marriage?

...

Ji Hantian and Qiao Dai's visit did not affect Gu An's life. In the following days, he visited the Outer Gate City more and more frequently.

During the winter season, with heavy snow falling.

In front of the Law Enforcement Hall's gate in the Outer Gate City, Gu An and Ye Lan stood before a statue.

After taking the elixirs from Gu An, Ye Lan said helplessly: "This is too much. Senior brother, don't you cultivate? Are you spending all day making elixirs for me?"

Gu An patted the snow off her shoulder and laughed softly: "Don't worry. What I gave you is only a small part; the majority I consumed myself. How could you be more important in my heart than myself?"

Ye Lan glared at him but felt deeply moved inside.
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She wasn't foolish. Gu An had definitely given her all the elixirs just to help her achieve the Primordial Reincarnation Skill.

She was puzzled. She felt her body was still good, able to live for another two hundred years. Why was her senior brother so insistent on her achieving it in the next twenty years?

Did her senior brother think she could only live for one hundred and twenty or thirty years?

She didn't ask much as she chose to trust her senior brother.

The two started talking about Zhen Qin.

For a long time.

Gu An bid farewell to Ye Lan and turned to leave.

Watching him walk into the heavy snow, Ye Lan felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

This feeling was strange; she felt she and her senior brother were growing further apart.

After leaving the Law Enforcement Hall, Gu An began wandering the streets.

Although the winter snow was heavy, some streets remained bustling.

Arriving in the busy market area, a young disciple approached him and whispered: "The long-lost Supreme Secret Records, want to buy? The kind with illustrations!"

Gu An gave him a look of disdain, bypassed him, and continued on his way.

The young disciple persisted; after a dozen steps of entanglement, he finally gave up.

"So hypocritical! I spit on you!"

The young disciple cursed at Gu An's back.

As he walked, Gu An unknowingly arrived near the Book Collection Hall and suddenly noticed someone reading a book under an old tree beside the hall's courtyard wall.

Reading Journey to the West, no less!

Gu An walked past and curiously asked: "Brother, why don't you read inside? There are seats in there."

Foundation Establishment Realm, just average.

Even his appearance was average.

But Gu An felt something off about his aura, so he used life span detection.

{You Yingying (Foundation Establishment Realm, Eighth Floor): 124/400/5000}

Hmm?

Maximum life span of five thousand years?

Why is the cultivation level so low?

And the name is a woman's?

Doesn't seem like she's disguised as a man.

You Yingying looked up at Gu An and replied: "It's too noisy inside. It's more peaceful here, and I can feel the nature."

Then she suddenly scrutinized Gu An, hesitated, and asked: "Are you Gu An?"